So I would like to make you aware of something that is going on and maybe you can appreciate it earlier than some of us slow learners.
Some of your teachers may seem exhausting, endlessly demanding or down right mean. Teachers don’t yell at me, I said SOME. Whereas, some of you are lucky enough to have a teacher who is truly invested in preparing you for real life. Honor these heroes, they do the Lord’s work. Stay in touch with them. You are going to need answers and probably references at some point. I was EXTREMELY blessed with the teachers at my very small school. They knew me and I knew them. I still go back and visit a handful of them when I’m home. An irony not lost on me, considering I spent the entirety of my early education “trying to escape” as one of said teachers wrote in my yearbook.
However, there were a few I just could not bring myself to enjoy. You know the ones. Are you thinking of your math teacher (algebra, my nemesis) or maybe it was your english teacher who CONSTANTLY asked you to read aloud? Perhaps it was a spanish teacher who would make you write sentences for chewing gum…again. (shout out, you know who you are).
Please understand that you are not going to love everyone in your life. And that goes both ways. This is an important lesson to learn as you enter the cold heartless world of adulting.
It may sound hard to believe, but at some point in your career, you will have a job that requires you to work with people you don’t care for, for whatever reason. Maybe you don’t like their work style, their overall demeanor or their moral compass doesn’t point due north. OR heaven forbid, they simply don’t like you. (Unthinkable for sure. Clearly you are a delight.) This person may be a colleague or worse yet, a boss. You still have to find a way to do the job you were hired to do.
As shocking as it is, these people are not here to be your friends. They are here for a step up in the their industry, for the love of the company but more often then not, they are just here for a paycheck. 97% of the time it won’t be about you so stop making it that way. 2% of the time it will be about you so quit being a self-centered jerk and think about the team. 1% of the time there will be nothing you can do about it so do the job to the best of your ability until you can promote up or out.
That’s it. As Tom Hanks famously stated, “It’s not personal, it’s business.” (if you don’t know who said this and why, stop reading and ask your mom to send you a list of must-see movies. If she won’t, message me, I will.)